Today we’d like to introduce you to Dru Kahlenberg.
Hi Dru, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
My family has been in land development, utilities, and real estate across Texas for generations, so I grew up around this business. I am a developer and operator by background, and to this day I sign off on every piece of land we build on and put together the financing behind every community. That discipline is the foundation everything else rests on.
We started Alta Homes in 2017 with a simple idea: a first home should be something a working family can actually afford, and buying it should not feel like a game. Anyone who has shopped for a new home knows how it usually goes. A builder advertises a low price to get you in the door, and then everything you assumed was included costs extra. The appliances, the blinds, the better lot, the closing costs. By the time you get to the closing table, the number looks nothing like the sign out front. We built Alta to be the opposite of that. We call it the Alta Standard: the refrigerator, washer and dryer, window blinds, and the other essentials come standard, closing cost support and a move-in credit are built in, and the price you see on day one is the price you pay.
Today we have built more than 200 homes across our communities in Conroe and Willis, with new homes starting in the $170s and quick move-in homes that can be ready in about 30 days. We grow deliberately, at a pace we can stand behind, because a warranty only matters if the builder is still around to honor it. Keeping Alta that kind of company is my job.
I live in Montgomery County myself, in an Alta home we built, a few miles from our communities. The same people who answer the phone are on site while your home goes up, and they are still here after you move in. Watching a family get the keys to a home they had been told they could not afford is what keeps us going.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Smooth is not the word I would use. Our early years of building ran straight into the pandemic supply chain problems. Lumber prices swung wildly, appliances sat on backorder, and schedules had to be rebuilt week by week.
Then, just as materials settled down, mortgage rates climbed and affordability became the challenge. Our buyers are mostly working families purchasing their first home, and every point on a mortgage rate hits them hardest. Keeping a quality new home attainable, starting in the $170s, while land, materials, and labor all got more expensive has forced us to be disciplined about everything: the floor plans we build, the way we buy, and the incentives we pass through to buyers instead of keeping for ourselves.
The quieter struggle has been earning trust. A lot of buyers walk in expecting to be nickel-and-dimed, because that is what the industry has taught them to expect. Proving that the price on the sign is real, over and over, one family at a time, takes patience. It is also the thing we are proudest of.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Alta Homes builds new single-family homes in Conroe, Willis, and the wider Montgomery County area north of Houston. We specialize in entry-level and move-up homes, with prices starting in the $170s and quick move-in homes that can be ready in about 30 days.
What sets us apart is what we call the Alta Standard. Every Alta home includes the things other builders sell as upgrades: the refrigerator, washer and dryer, window blinds throughout, a garage door opener, designer-selected finishes, and premium lots that are not held back for upcharges. Closing cost support and a move-in credit are built into every home, so buyers know their total price on day one. Alta means high, and our standard is higher. No games, no surprises, just an investment that makes sense.
Because we are family-owned and deliberately small, every buyer works with a dedicated Home Advisor who walks with them from the first tour to keys, and the same team stays available after move-in with warranties made with buyers in mind. We are proud of the homes we build, and just as proud of how it feels to buy one.
For readers who want to see what we are building, our communities in Conroe and Willis have move-in ready homes available now, and everything is at myaltahomes.com.
What matters most to you? Why?
Family, and keeping my word. Those two things are really the same answer.
Alta is family-owned, and most of the people we build for are families taking the biggest financial step of their lives. When someone trusts you with that, the most important thing you can do is tell them the truth: about the price, about the timeline, about what is and is not included. A home is where everything else in a family’s life happens, so getting that first step right matters far beyond the closing table.
That is why transparency is not a marketing line for us. It is the whole business. If we ever have to choose between a quick sale and keeping our word, we keep our word. That reputation is worth more than any single home we will ever sell.
Pricing:
- New homes from the $170s in Conroe and Willis
- Quick move-in homes can be ready in about 30 days
- Closing cost support and a move-in credit included with every home
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.myaltahomes.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/altahomes
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/AltaHomes
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/alta-homes
